Dimesnional Knight Psychonizer Story Thread
Posted: 2020-10-30 12:57pm
Hello guys, I recently wrote a 100 page story that I would like to publish one day, however I don't think its ready yet, so could you guys criticize the work?
Inspirations are Friday the 13th the Series and the Metal Heroes Series from Japan.
Dimensional Knight Psychonizer
The Brass Vengeance
Alternate Dimension One
December 1882
The burlap bag was pulled off the man's head. His eyes took in the surroundings as they adjusted to the starkly lit room. He listened carefully and was surprised to hear the lapping of waves against wood. Then he felt the floor beneath him move side to side and he realized where he was - onboard a ship. Around him were nine men dressed in tuxedos, replete with opera masks . They stood around him in a circular pattern.
“Who are you?” he croaked out. The masked man closest to him stepped forward and spoke kindly.
“Well, well, well. Commodore Parker. I see you’ve accepted my invitation. Welcome to our humble vessel. I know it's no ocean liner but I feel it’s comfortable enough.”
Parker felt a surge of anger and shouted, "Let me go! Do you know who I am? I can destroy your careers!”
“You were a Captain thirty years ago?” The leader asked, ignoring the exclamation.
“Yes. Yes, I was.” A distant memory entered his mind and panic began to set in.
“Oh! I see a little recognition. Do you remember the night of June 2nd, 1852?”
Parker felt terror as he heard those words and as the men advanced, “It’s you. What will you do with me?” he croaked.
The masked man laughed and said "I assure you, none of us will harm you in any way." He took a large brass watch out of his breast pocket.
"Like it?" He asked Parker who was terrified as he looked around.
The watch clicked open unaided. Parker could not shake the feeling the watch was leering at him like a lion leers at a gazelle before it strikes.
Parker felt mesmerized as he looked at the watch. Warnings in his head told him to turn away but he couldn't.
The watch seemed to emanate power as all of its hands spun around. From the center of the mechanical timekeeper flew cold, wet spray causing the man to close his eyes.
A chorus of screams rang out from the watch along with the sounds of wood and metal being smashed.
The leader of the masked men roared, “Do you remember Parker? The ones who called for you all those years ago?”
Before Parker could do or say anything, strands made out of a strange white-ish, cord like material flew out of the watch and inserted themselves into his body.
The watch hands began to spin counter-clockwise and Parker screamed as pains wracked his frame.
The white cords began their work and sucked him into the works like a pump. After a few seconds passed, a reddish material was extracted from him causing the unfortunate man to scream aloud. Minutes passed and the reddish material turned to purple, then a dark blue, and finally black.
Despite Parker feeling like this process had taken an eternity, it only took a few moments and the results were remarkable.
What was once a 75 year old heavyset man had turned into a brittle, yellowed skeleton with loose hanging clothes draped over it.
As one of the men approached the skeleton, it collapsed under its own weight. The leader of the group motioned and said, “Clean that mess up.”
The eight men did so while the leader looked at the watch, on the inside of the cover was over two hundred markings of varying sizes.
As he watched, three markings vanished and the leader grinned. His efforts had been rewarded.
The watch glowed as its owner put it back into his pocket, the light turned from white to blue and then faded into darkness.
Prime Dimension
Date: 3,203 PD
Frank Hamilton, age twenty three, gripped his stomach and nearly keeled over. There was a bizarre feeling in his stomach. However it vanished as quickly as it had arrived and he got up feeling sore.
The lawyer looked up from the papers, “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.
The young man got up and waved, “I think I had something that disagreed with me. Just stomach issues.”
The lawyer looked skeptical but returned to reading the will of the late Benedict Cassius Hamilton, Frank Hamilton's father and possible originator of a well known curse that had affected him for the last seven years.
Despite the suddenness of the attack, Frank was pretty sure that it was just stomach pain.
“In the event of his disappearance, Benedict Cassius Hamilton has written that you will take over his antiques store, La Bonŝanca Trovo and all possessions related to it to use or dispose of as you see fit.”
The lawyer then handed him a tablet, “This is all the paperwork for the store. Now Mr. Hamilton, I am aware of your past with your father and can confirm that disposal of items is permitted legally and there’ll be no issues if you do so.”
Frank gave a slight smile, “Thank you, Mr. Dorschent. Let me sign.”
Dorschent nodded, “Esperanto please. I know you prefer Amérikaano but it is a galactic document and you of all people should know the preference there.”
Frank rolled his eyes, “I know, still at least this is painless. Now, can I offer you dinner? My treat. I know what Starliner food is like.”
The lawyer shook his head, “I must return to my office, Mr. Hamilton. Perhaps another day.”
Mr. Dorschent began to open the door when a woman yelled “Ouch!” as she crashed into it.
Frank looked up from the tablet and then smiled as he felt a very familiar mental presence emanating from beyond the door.
He walked to the door where the lawyer was helping a short woman in a white long sleeved button down covered by a sleeveless vest, a brown miniskirt, and brown riding boots.
She looked ready to give the unfortunate lawyer a mouthful.
Next to her was an older grey haired gentleman with a kindly face dressed in a white dress shirt, grey waistcoat, red bowtie, grey pants and brown shoes. All of which was in an old fashioned style who was also helping her up.
Frank ignored the two men and spoke to the woman, “For a telepath, you have a worrying habit of walking into doors. Perhaps you should focus on the sidewalk?”
Laura Waterton blinked and her building rage vanished. Frank felt her mind reach out and feel around his for a moment, her confusion turned to surprise.
He patted her face with a wide grin on his face, “Yeah, it’s me. Remember I’m your partner? Or is your memory failing you?”
The red haired woman frowned, “Why are you here? You told me you’d never come back to Nova Tero.”
The lawyer said “Mr. Hamilton has taken possession of Benedict Cassius Hamilton’s store after his sudden disappearance. The will states he had to be here physically to take possession.”
Laura turned in surprise to Frank as Mr. Dorschent slipped away from them.
Frank felt a little admiration at the man’s ability to vanish before she spoke. “Well,” she started, “this must be Christmas come early for you..”
Frank frowned and chose his words carefully. “If he didn’t vanish and I knew what happened, perhaps. However, his disappearance is worrying since it could mean some very unpleasant things.”
She nodded and didn’t press. Those “things” were well known to her.
Frank handed her a napkin to wipe off some dirt off her face. She smiled and was about to speak when the old gentleman interrupted, “So this is Franklin Hamilton? A pleasure.”
He extended his hand and Frank shook it, surprised at the strong grip of the older gentleman while Laura introduced him, “Frank, this is my grandfather, Perseus.”
Frank's eyes widened as he heard this, “So you’re her grandfather? Laura wasn’t kidding when she said you were a marvel.”
The old man raised an inquisitive eyebrow and Laura grew somewhat crimson, “In what ways did she say I was a marvel?” Perseus asked.
Frank replied, “You look like you should be considering retirement and instead you’re traveling and doing very active work. I hope I can do that when I reach your age.”
Perseus Hartford let out a chuckle, “Well, I should think there’s a possibility of that. However, I was blessed with extraordinary genetics and an active lifestyle that has allowed me to prosper at all stages of life. Please tell me about yourself.”
Frank began to think about what to say when a familiar pain began to materialize in his stomach.
Alternate Dimension One
December 1882
The leader looked at the man in front of him with a look of disdain on his face. Parker may have abandoned them to die but he wasn’t the one who put them in harm's way.
This thing in front of him was the one who ensured that those who died were even in the position of being in the water that dreadful night.
He motioned to a cohort behind the victim who took off the bag over his head.
Former Third Officer Lewis Vernon of the SS Zenith of Lane gasped as he looked around.
Unlike Parker, he had fallen on hard times due to the stigma of his actions. However Vernon had been found not guilty and that was all that mattered to him.
The leader said “Vernon, out of everyone in my crusade, your crime is the greatest.”
The man looked perplexed as he heard this, “What do you mean?”
“Remember the night of June 2nd, 1852? It was a dark, rainy but beautiful night.” The leader reminisced.
Vernon realized what was being referenced immediately and let out a despairing moan.
The leader cracked a smile as he heard this, “We got Parker last night. Now let us see if you are guilty or not.”
He pulled out his watch and opened it, Vernon looking confusedly as he peered inside.
The watch numbers had been replaced with doves and gavels, the leader clicked the top of the watch causing the hands to spin.
For a few moments, the watch hands just spun then stopped on gavels without warning.
Then the tendrils extended and began to insert themselves into the man, energies sucked from his body as he began to shrivel up. Fat and muscle were devoured giving the man a corpse-like appearance, the skin and eyes were consumed, and finally the network of nerves.
The tendrils then sucked the marrow out weakening the bones until they were incapable of supporting themselves and collapsed into dust.
Opening the watch, the leader smiled wolfishly as three more marks disappeared.
Prime Dimension
Date: 3,203 PD
Frank collapsed, in his ears a chorus of screams rang out, tearing metal and wood deafened him while he lost his vision as the inside of his head shook.
However, the true agony from the attack was in his body as it felt like every part of him was being ripped apart.
The agony lasted 20 seconds and ended just as suddenly. Frank breathed heavily on the ground, blind and deaf for a few seconds.
Slowly, both hearing and vision returned. He opened his eyes and found Laura and Perseus standing over him, looking concerned.
“Mr. Hamilton, are you alright?” Perseus asked. Frank nodded slowly, taking a few moments before grunting out “Barely.”
Laura helped him up and asked the inevitable question, “Was it your curse?”
Frank let out a wet cough and thought it over for a few moments, “I think so. Oh god, I haven’t had that type of pain in years.”
The old man looked over Hamilton questioningly, “What is this curse? What you had looked like a spasm of some kind. Where did those splinters and water come from?”
Frank felt his face over and discovered that it was all wet. His fingers had long splinters of wood in them.
He tasted the liquid and was surprised to taste salt water. “What in blazes?” Astonishment present in his voice, “Salt water?”
Laura looked confused before a memory came into her mind, “I remember meeting you before getting the enchantment,” She turned to Perseus who looked perplexed, “It’s more of a popular name for technology that can block the effects of demonic energies..” She turned back to Frank, “ strange stuff like that was noticed all over you every time this happened. Remember when we found that ancient Roman knife in your back?”
Frank grimaced, “I promise I’ve been keeping up making sure my enchantments.”
Perseus now had a serious face on, “Let me look you over.”
He took a strange tool out of his pocket and calibrated it. Turning to Frank he said, “Hold your breath Mr. Hamilton, there’ll be a momentary pain as I extract some blood.”
Frank blinked, “Come again?”
Perseus then stabbed the tool into Frank’s chest.
The young man blinked for a moment unsure of what to do until he felt a strange sensation of pleasure.
The first feeling was that of a massage, the second of cats fur being all over him and the third was cats and what he imagined crocodiles(?) to feel like massaging him which was weird but somehow relaxing.
The strange feeling ended as Perseus removed his tool.
Suddenly Frank felt the actual pain of the blood extraction as the sensation faded, his face turned white and he let out an exclamation of “Nierkdco!”.
“Don’t be a child.” Perseus chided before he looked at the results.
Laura patted him on the back, “It’ll be alright. Let me guess, cat fur?”
Frank replied, “Cat and crocodile skin massage. It was strangely pleasing.”
Laura stopped and looked at him, “What?”
Then Perseus gasped and Frank turned to the horrified old man who was looking him over.
“Do you have suspicions on who may have cursed you?” Perseus asked.
Frank thought for a moment and said “My father. We fought the night before I first started having these episodes. I had woken up to find him sticking something in me, it looked like a vial. Couldn’t prove it though.”
Laura looked at the tool and her eyes widened, “I can guess why. He was working with the demons.”
Frank's eyes widened. “You have proof?”
He rushed over and tried to make sense of the tool’s readings, only to be stopped by the realization that he couldn’t read the bizarre language on the display.
However, the mathematical symbol for the demon dimension was unmistakable. “That wretch, I knew something like that was going on,” he growled.
Laura looked at the readings again and then at the store. “It’s odd, I’ve never seen these readings before.”
Perseus looked down at the tool and then at her, “I have seen something like it, Mr. Hamilton. In essence, your father seemed to have received something from this demon realm. However, the origin of this beneficial energy stems from a different dimension while you receive the aftershocks that should also also be sent with them.”
Frank growled, “I can guess what he got out of it, immortality or something like it.”
Perseus frowned as he heard this, “Without seeing his body, I can only speculate. This demon seems to be quite a new hand at dimensional manipulation but it’s fiendishly clever.”
Laura sighed, “Frank? Do you mind if I look through the store with you?”
The young man nodded, “Of course Laura, I have to do inven-”
Then something clicked in his mind, he turned to Perseus and raised an eyebrow, “So, you’re an alien?”
The old man jumped in surprise and Laura realized what Frank had figured out, “I’m sorry, Frank for not telling you but-”
Frank waved her off, “I’m not angry, family is family and I’d do the same if my father hadn’t driven every relative off and poisoned any future attempts at reconciliation. However, I’m curious about you, sir. Laura has stood with me through perils and joys alike, you I wonder about.”
Perseus rose to his full 6’3, “Is that so? Why?”
“You stab me with what I assume is an unsterilized needle and basically tell me what I always wanted to hear.” Frank replied.
The old man blinked and was about to snap when Laura put her hand over his mouth, “Frank, we’ve known each other for how long?”
“Five years give or take a few months.” The young man replied.
“Let me assure you, demons haven’t managed to infiltrate his mind. This is just how he usually acts, believe me.” She rubbed her hand over her bottom as a long forgotten memory came up,
Frank felt the effects of the memory and winced, “Well, there’s only one way to know.” He said.
Frank took out a small pen and jabbed it into Perseus’ face, nothing happened.
“You’re demon free. If you had been infected, then your skin would have been burnt.” Frank explained.
Perseus raised an inquisitive eyebrow while Laura simply grinned, “You still carry that?” she asked.
Frank smiled at her, “It only takes me a millisecond to react to changes.”
Laura rolled her eyes, “Oh yes, I also imagine that this was in no way motivated by him jabbing you?”
The young man gave a mock expression of horror, “Perish the thought Laura! I am not that petty”, winking as he finished the statement.
Perseus frowned, “I see, I’m also certain that thing does not actually work.”
Laura looked at Frank's hand as he reached inside his coat, “You’re getting the hand aren’t you?”
Frank grinned and pulled a mottled disfigured hand from the inside of his jacket, the old man's face dropped as the younger man thrust the pen into it, immediately it began to spark and a strong ozone smell emanated from it, the pen was removed and the reaction stopped.
“Oh my!” Perseus exclaimed.
“Belief in certain objects mixed with the metal known as brass, both are acidic to demon and demon infested skin while the latter also keeps germs from being long term guests.” Laura explained to her grandfather.
The older man grimaced, “What an ingenious device. Probably expensive due to the nature of its materials and the number of humans.”
“There’s a reason brass isn’t used in civilian usage, along with copper.” Frank replied.
Perseus let out a soft chuckle and then turned to him, “Now, back to your curse. I have a theory on what has been going on. Let me ask about these demons, what are they?”
Frank turned to Laura, “Do you wish to explain?”
She shook her head, “I think you do it best.”
Frank smiled and turned to Perseus, “They came from a universe where the rules of reality were similar to ours once. The demons took over and somehow managed to change the rules of that universe by their very presence making it quantumly unstable. They seem to use emotion to empower them, especially what some call ‘negative’ emotions like anger, fear, sadness even though others feed on positives.”
Perseus shuddered, “Quantumly unstable aliens, the powers those things would have! No wonder you call them demons.”
Frank nodded, “We managed to drive them away from Earth a few hundred years ago and shut down the collider, despite that the planet is still unsafe to live on. That and the fact all the nuclear materials were detonated turning it to a literal hellzone.”
Laura then jumped in, “There’s even unsubstantiated tales of the ground acting like water, fire and blood tornadoes, and creatures made of electricity.”
“That’s all that happened?” Perseus asked.
Frank and Laura nodded, Perseus made some calculations, “It might be possible to recover the planet, in a few hundred millennia.”
Then as the two were absorbing that, Perseus announced. “Now for my plans. I’ll look around the store and his house. Well, if he has a house, in a few days. I need to collect my thoughts and some tools. Furthermore where would the blueprints for the store and home be?”
Frank replied, “He lived in an apartment above the store, city hall would be where you're looking for the blueprints. What are you going to do?”
However the older man had already departed, “Cor, he’s fast.” Frank said.
“You have no idea.” She replied.
“Given your discussion of dimensional stuff, I’m going to assume you're not from around here either?” Frank asked.
Laura nodded, “He and I hail from an advanced dimensional traveling society. Unlike the Hadron Collider experiments of this dimension which led to the demon infiltration, we managed to avoid those unwelcome guests and learn how to travel in dimensions, time and space. Although the second isn’t often used, turns out time has its own guardians there.”
She shuddered as she remembered her sole meeting with them.
Frank chuckled and said “Oh lovely. Well, I’m going to be doing inventory for now.”
Laura replied, “I think I’ll help, knowing my grandfather, when he returns he’ll be looking at the walls and doors and growling if it isn’t done.”
Frank grimaced, “Let’s go then.”
Laura smiled, “You seem to be taking this well.”
Frank replied, “Well, you’ve been a good partner. Where I would be without you is something I shudder to contemplate. If your grandfather played a role in that, then he’s good in my book.”
Laura smiled at the compliment.
The two entered the store and began to look through the inventory and pack it up while looking for anything that told of demonic dealings.
However, it seemed that Benedict Cassius Hamilton had lived by the age old motto, “You don’t defecate where you eat.”
The only thing off was three books next to the sales ledgers, which were normal looking and had no traces of demon energy.
The volumes though were written in strange languages neither could recognize and bizarre looking numerals made them unreadable.
For five and a half days, they continued searching and packing before Perseus returned with a briefcase, a tablet and a workman’s bag.
He looked around the inside as he entered, Frank and Laura looked up from their meal. Perseus grinned and said “Fantastic work you two, I am going to assume you’ve found nothing?”
“Just a couple of ledgers containing unknown languages and bizarre numbers.” Laura reported.
Frank then said “They’re probably forgotten languages of man the demons taught him. That would be a kicker wouldn’t it?”
Perseus harrumphed, “Good job, now I’ll be busy going around the store and apartment setting up these machines. Don’t ask what they do, until yesterday I had nothing like them.”
The two watched him go around the room setting up strange reddish brown rectangular devices.
Then he quickly went to the other rooms on the ground floor and set up similar devices and then ran up the stairs.
Frank blinked and looked at Laura, “He seems to be in a hurry.”
She chuckled at this, “Don’t worry, he’ll slow down in a few minutes. Do we have enough food for him?”
Frank nodded and a few minutes later the old man came down the stairs satisfied, “Good afternoon you two.” Perseus said to them.
They handed him a soup bowl and Perseus took it, after sipping the soup he said “Quite a pleasant week I admit. The records were quite descriptive of how he built the house. For instance did you know he applied for a basement but never purchased a thing for it?”
“I remember, I was still living here at the time. Heck, we built it together. That is peculiar though. I remember him going into the basement all the time after we built it.” Frank replied.
Perseus raised his eyebrow and asked, “Where was the entrance?”
Frank got up and said “Let me show you.” They walked up to the bedroom where the young man saw the familiar door, it was flush with the wall with its knob missing.
He fiddled with the door and was rewarded with a click. He opened it and grinned as he saw the winding staircase, turning Frank called, “Come on!”
Laura and Perseus looked at each other in surprise, “Frank? There’s only a wall.”
Laura replied. The young man looked inquisitively at them both and said “I just opened the door, come on down.”
The two looked at each other and followed him, they were surprised as they walked through the doorway and found themselves in the stairway.
They slowly followed him deeper into the stairwell.
A few minutes later they reached the bottom of the stairs which led to a very large room, in it was a strange set of objects that caused them to stop.
“How did they get there?” Frank and Laura exclaimed at once as they saw the treasure trove before them.
Alternate Dimension One
December 1882
The masked leader felt warm despite the chilly wind that went underneath his clothing. He moved his hand underneath his coat and grabbed the watch, once again he heard its song.
A small part of him tried to deny the song any entry to his heart but he rejected this effort, the desire for vengeance had long superseded everything else in his soul.
The schooner was very quiet as it made its way up the shore, it would take time but soon they would reach their next stop.
Then, the last of the guilty would pay the price to save three more onboard the ship. With that done, he could rest and end his days back under the guise of the lord.
The song entered his heart and he wondered if that was the best idea, the lord would probably not approve of his actions.
Plus, there were other criminals who needed to pay for their sins.
A wave came over the deck and soaked his skin.
His eyes closed as the events of June 2nd, 1852 flew into his mind.
The terror as the ships collided, the slanting deck knocking people off their feet, the cries of women and children as the water approached them, the struggle to reach anything that floated, the screams and then the silence.
He shook in anger as he remembered this, then he remembered being rescued and shook, what nonsense the crew offered him,
He would dispose of their leader properly, that wretch would pay.
Alternate Dimension One
December 1882
Frank and Laura walked into the room, priceless artifacts from all corners and eras of pre-demon Earth were littered around.
Perseus was equally as stunned, some of the items he saw included lost pieces of art, cultural artifacts, armors and literature including the Le Pigeon aux Petits Pois and the Cardenio.
He walked up to the latter and picked it up, a strange feeling of pleasure came into him as he opened the pages.
A suspicion came into his mind and he closed the book, then took out a small neural device, setting it to forget all he had read. He put it on his head, the device destroyed the memories and the feeling of unnatural pleasure vanished.
He looked longingly at the book, it was one of his favorite plays when he saw it on one of his travels and a written version had been impossible to find even for him.
Putting it down he turned to Laura and said “Cursed.”
Frank looked at some of the works sadly and said “I’m not surprised, the demons seized most of these works and probably gained the rest over the duration of their reign on Earth. We’ll have to dest-”
Laura noticed her grandfather's face and interrupted.
“Maybe we could try to transcribe the items. It won’t be original but their contents won’t be lost.”
The old man looked at her slightly relieved, “Thank you my dear, however it should be done cautiously. My mind has been trained for millennia to fight off mental temptations and I felt influenced! If these demons manage to have that much influence with a single item, I shudder to think what power a single demon has.”
Frank and Laura shuddered, they had fought demons for some time and knew precisely what they were capable of.
Then Frank saw something behind the piles of books, he walked around them and found a small desk and a register.
Suspiciously he opened the register, He started in surprise as the drawer opened, opened again in the middle and again and again until an extremely large table had opened up.
Inside each of the inserts was a different currency, the other two came up to him and looked at the currencies in the inserts.
A sight caught his eyes, a golden coin with a woman's head was glowing a dark red color, he slowly moved his hand towards it.
As his hand touched the coin, his vision was blinded by a flash of light. He was thrown back into a wall, as his mind darkened two words came into his mind.
Dame Lucia
A few minutes later he woke up to a strange and piercing scent. His eyes slowly cleared and he saw Perseus holding a strange bottle under his nose.
Laura looked relieved as she saw him awaken.
“Are you alright? Was it-?” He cut her off by groggily shaking his head and saying “I lost common sense and touched a glowing coin. Just a question, have either of our heard of Dame Lucia? Something called a steamship - some kind of water going vessel.”
Laura shook her head and said “No, you’re the old machine buff around here. When did that name come into your head?”
Frank unsteadily got up and walked to the register, the coin was still glowing its malevolent color, “I touched that coin and it sent me flying.”
“Oh my, Grandfather do you have a clue what that is and what these ashes are?” Laura asked.
The old man looked at it and said “I think this is what delivers the aftershocks. It’s been activated recently, however they all seemed to have been wrapped in something.”
Perseus put on a monocle and looked in at the currencies and frowned, “Mr. Hamilton, are there enchantments in this universe that could limit the power of a demonic object?”
“Yes. Laura knows a good chunk of them, I admit I focused more on demon destruction.” Frank replied.
Perseus turned to Laura who was stroking her chin, “Grandfather, I think I get what you’re suggesting. The ashes may be the remnants of enchantments placed over them, probably because of the noticeability of the early aftershocks.”
Frank grimaced, “Would destroying them work or would I make it worse?”
“Worse. The origin of the shocks would still exist and ramp up in whatever dimension they’re in. Plus, we couldn’t figure out the origin points. However I could nullify most of the effects, even more effectively than the enchantments you wore.” Laura replied.
Frank looked at the currencies distastefully, “Lovely, given the fact he has about one hundred or so different forms of payment and all of them have ashes around them, this can only mean that he’s been making this a regular business.”
“It is interesting, the man has only sold one hundred or so items. Yet, no ledger is here. Whatever his sins, he was quite tidy in his paperwork ” Perseus said as Laura handed him over the ledgers with the unknown characters, “Oh! That will do quite nicely.” He said as he opened the first one.
His face changed from eager to confusion as the strange letters and numbers in their odd orders greeted him. “I see secrecy was vital to him.” Perseus said as he poured over the pages with their strange characters and pictures of various items.
“Do you have any clue what they are?” Laura asked, “From what I see, it seems to be a fusion of various languages that are lost or forgotten on Earth.”
Perseus nodded and said “Indeed, I should be able to decipher the writings in a month or two but it’ll be trial and error filled until the computer picks up on how he writes.”
Frank laughed out loud as he heard this, the two looked at him as he recovered. “I apologize, my father’s always been a poor speaker of any language he came across. Writing is no different so I suspect half the errors you’ll encounter were by him trying to be clever.”
Perseus looked at the ledger with a hint of anger in his face, “He’s one of those people. Oh my, this is going to be a treat. Laura, could you hand me my work bag? Laura?”
The two men turned to see Laura looking at a small portion of the floor, they walked over to her and saw what interested the woman so much.
In a small pile on the floor in front of her was a bunch of ripped clothes, underneath them were two comically long shoes. Frank recognized them at once and said “He dealt with the devil.”
“And lost.” She added, “I think we won’t be seeing him again. Look at the glass next to it, I’d wager that was part of the device he used to communicate with the demons.”
Frank grimaced as he looked at the glass, “The fortune he must’ve spent on making glass like that! The way it shattered and the color makes me think of something like sapphire or ruby.”
Perseus picked up a piece and shook his head, “I’d say it was rubidium mixed with other metals in a way to make it transparent.”
“Rubidium?” Frank asked, “Yes, notice the softness of the metal and the device inside. It seems to be part of a hard light device.” Perseus explained.
They turned around and saw a control panel, “My god, he’s been busy.” Perseus exclaimed and then Laura realized something.
“The hard light must be used to make the structure that generates the portal!” She exclaimed.
The two men looked at each other in surprise before Perseus realized what she was saying, “Of course, hard light mechanisms have non-industrial uses here don’t they?”
Frank nodded, “I knew he used a set for birthdays and neighborhood events.”
Laura grimaced as she heard this, “It’s scary, he managed to repurpose a hard light to make a device to contact demons.”
Perseus nodded, “I imagine that in the years since you first met the demons, the security organizations of your world limit the sale of anything that could allow contact with the demon realm. Your father found a very interesting workaround I admit.”
Laura nodded, “One of our duties is to undergo plastic surgery and then go into any black markets looking for illicit sellers.”
Frank frowned, “I am curious as to where he got the power supplies. However, making the frame out of light is ironic.”
Perseus let out a grim chuckle, “I can only speculate but I think during his time as a merchant vessel parts trader he accumulated stock and marked several pieces as lost. I think if we look around, there’ll be 20 to 30 year old power generators about.”
Frank winced, “Headquarters isn’t going to like hearing that. Most people who try to deal with demons are too greedy and easy to spot. He is the type of ally that the demons most enjoy. When did he fall to them?”
A hint of sadness was in his voice as he said that, Laura wondered if pity was entering his mind.
Perseus sighed, “That will be for the authorities to figure out. Now, where do we go from here?”
Frank looked at the gold coin with interest, “I think we should find out what’s causing my recent pains and destroy it.”
Laura nodded as she heard Frank's statement, “No good can come from anything demonic.”
Perseus looked at the coin with interest, “How will you get there?”
Frank froze and thought for a moment, “Well, I could apply for a SPEARPOINT jump.”
Perseus raised an eyebrow, “SPEARPOINT?”
Laura answered, “Their interdimensional travel device, it's like firing a cannonball through dimensional barriers.”
Perseus gaped as he heard this, “How barbaric! I can’t allow that to be used. Come along with me.”
Frank was surprised as he heard this, turning to Laura, he saw she looked a bit relieved. As Perseus went up the stairs, Frank asked, “Was this your plan?”
She shrugged, “As much as I despise SPEARPOINT, this was not my plan. Grandfather was always willing to use more modern and safer methods of interdimensional travel..”
Frank grinned as an old memory came into his head, “Interesting. I'm sure this has nothing to do with the last SPEARPOINT jump which landed you up the Centaur Demon’s a-”
Laura put her hand over his mouth and growled, “Not a word Hamilton. You agreed to keep that secret. Any word gets out and I tell everyone about the witch transforming you int-”
Frank put his hand over her mouth quickly, “Point taken.”
The two headed up the stairs and as they reached the bedroom. Perseus looked at them distastefully, “What took you so long?”
“Don’t ask.” Frank replied. Perseus frowned and Laura raised her eyebrow after a moment, “Get your mind out of the gutter.” she snapped.
Perseus frowned, “What I just saw in your minds put it there. I wish it had been the gutter option.”
The two blushed and Frank shuddered a bit fearfully, “I didn’t even feel you.” Perseus replied “Dear boy, I did mention I had trained for millennia. I promise to not look inside too often, you are quite restrained in your thoughts though.”
Frank beamed as he heard this, “I won’t deny there’s some good from joining the Dimensional Knights.” Laura then spoke, “Before I figure out what you mean by that, let’s head downstairs.”
The three headed down the stairs and into the street, Frank looked around and said “So, let me ask. How do you travel?”
“Follow me.” The old man replied. The three walked down the street and into an old warehouse.
“Why are we here? This hasn’t really been used and people will get suspicious of three individuals going into here.” Frank said.
Perseus pointed at the middle of the warehouse proudly, “This my boy is what we’re going for.” Frank looked and saw a medium sized plane with two propeller engines.
“This, my boy is my dimensional travelling vessel.” Frank raised an eyebrow as Perseus finished and he replied, “It’s a plane, a turboprop airplane.”
“Yes, yes it is. A modified version of a favorite of mine. The Fokker Friendship.” The old man replied with a gleeful spark in his eye.
Frank looked at Laura who shrugged slightly embarrassed. The old man excitedly led them to the cockpit door and opened it.
Inside the cockpit was a futuristic interior. Contrary to Frank’s expectations, it was sized perfectly to the interior of the plane.
He whistled as he looked around, “What happens if someone you don’t want to see gets in?”
The old man smiled, closed the door, turned the key to the left, and opened it again. Inside was a perfectly normal cockpit of the 21st century.
“Ah. How does that occur?” Frank asked.
Laura replied, “Same way we transform. Just less messy.”
“Ah.” Frank replied and Perseus raised an eyebrow, “Transform?”
“Can’t kill demons permanently through conventional means, you need certain elements and weapon systems are needed. For them to have maximum effect, humanity created Dimensional Knights. We transform, well, exchange our bodies with metallic bodies which are stored in a different dimension when not in use.” Laura explained.
Perseus looked impressed and said “Oh my. That is impressive. How do you keep the mind connected to the body?”
“Krovært Tubes in the suits.” Frank explained, “They keep the connection going but are ungodly expensive.”
“They must be. Hopefully we shall not have to put them to the test.” Perseus replied as he turned the key, “Now come on in.”
They entered the Friendship and Perseus slowly began to start it up. Unlike a normal Friendship which was a turboprop plane, the version he had silently and pleasantly hummed into life as antigravity and dimensional generators started up.
The old man slowly moved the throttles forward causing the vessels engines to let out a muffled roar.
The vessel slowly lifted into the air and Perseus input some coordinates and speed, then pressed a button.
The vessel’s engines screamed into life and the ship soared out of the dimension and into the multiverse.
As the vessel surged forward, Perseus looked at the two younger people and said “I’ll be going into the cockpit, she has a bit of damage and I want to make sure the autopilot works.”
Frank raised an eyebrow, “Seems a bit dangerous. Is it safe?”
“Indeed, as long as I avoid any dimensional mines.” Perseus responded glaring at Frank.
Laura glared, “Don’t hold him accountable for that.” She turned to Frank, “We struck a mine, grandfather had to fix the ship for several years. Hence why I decided to join while he repaired the ship.”
Frank shuddered, “Ah, sorry about that. The navy is a bit, eager, to show off against the demons.”
Perseus gave a small smile, “Apology accepted, knowing most military types I suspect this is the best apology I can get. I’m almost tempted to see what these demons are like to understand why your race is so paranoid about them.”
Laura then turned to her uncle with a worried expression, “Avoid it at all costs. Oh! Did you remember-?” She made a book opening motion with her hands.
Perseus then felt the inside of his coat and exclaimed, “Almost forgot!”
He took out the three ledgers with the strange languages in it and brought them to a door in the back.
After a minute, he came back out, “I put them in a translator. Hopefully I should at least have a decent idea what’s in them.”
He then entered the cockpit, “We should be there in about 12 hours, so just rest and enjoy. Snacks are underneath the seats. Period appropriate dress is in the overhead rack.”
Then the door shut and Laura turned to Frank, “So, want to snoodle?”
The young man jumped and blushed, “What?”
“I finally got you to jump in surprise.” She grinned while Frank frowned, “That isn’t fair. It’s not every day I walk into something out of a 1950s sci-fi serial.”
She rolled her eyes at this, “Don’t let grandfather hear that, he’s quite certain the interior is up to date and not a throwback.” Frank nearly broke out into laughter as he heard that.
They talked some more before deciding to catch a nap, the two were heading into unknown territory and didn’t know what they would face or when a rest would be found. As they rested, the ship headed backwards in the time of Dimension Xv2I9IX-9Ru4 to the year 1882 in the state of New England.
Alternate Dimension One
December 8th, 1882
Onboard the train from Boston to Port Faerin, Pinkerton Detective Agency Employee Martin Feiner read his orders with interest.
Putting down the paper he laid back and thought over them as the locomotive charged onwards through the falling snow.
‘Going to watch over a disgraced captain to trap a gang of murderers that may or may not be there in the middle of winter.’ He thought, ‘One day I will gain seniority and be able to avoid these duties.’
A clap sounded above the train, Feiner looked around in surprise as he heard it. Then a man fell through the ceiling, the detective drew his pistol and undid the safety before approaching the sprawled out body.
He wondered if the man was dead before hearing the groan and seeing him move. The detective came closer and was confused as he saw the man's dress.
He had on a denim coat and pants that were too light for the weather outside, grey and black shoes of a strange make and made out of strange materials, his body spoke of many hours of labor or working out in the sun as an uneven tan was visible on his wrists, some scars were noticeable on his body but strangest of all was his hair.
It was a poofy hair style that he had seen in Barnums circus worn by Circassian beauties and some African American women.
As the man got up, the detective was confused as to what to do. He decided to talk to the man, “Hands up, turn around and sit down. We’re going to have a talk.”
The stranger who fell through the roof raised his hands up and turned around, then walking backwards, sat down.
The detective was surprised further as he saw the man was wearing a thin whitish grey shirt with no buttons under the open denim jacket.
For a moment he wondered if he was going mad, especially as no wounds were present on the arrivals body.
“Now then, what’s an underdressed fellow like yourself doing here?” Feiner asked.
The stranger spoke in a pained tone, “I wish I knew.”
He looked out the window and seemed dismayed, the detective felt perplexed as he wondered about how and why he was there.
“Now, what is your name?” The detective asked. “Frank Villard Hamilton, I’m heading to Port Faerin.”
The detective froze, his recent orders rang in his mind as the man he was going to protect was in Port Faerin.
“May I ask why?” Detective Feiner asked.
Frank opened one of his hands and seemed relieved as he saw a piece of paper in his hand, “I’m looking for the buyer of this watch. There was a problem with the purchase and heard he might be heading here.”
The detective looked at the illustration and was perplexed, it was an oval brass watch that looked like it had a painted pearl on its cover.
“Interesting.” The wording on the page was odd and seemed to be written by a madman with most words in English and the others in odd languages.
However a name caught his eye, he grabbed the paper and looked again.
Reverend William Jones Clement
He looked up and said “Is this accurate? Are you really looking for him?”
“Yes. Why?” Frank replied confused.
The detective was feeling excited, a real lead had literally just fallen out of the sky.
He didn’t like the man's odd dress and he was curious as to his origins but he felt like kissing him in joy.
He restrained himself, there was a risk of this Hamilton being a madman or anarchist or some other unpleasant fellow trying to interfere and asked, “Now, why are you here?”
Inside his head, Frank Hamilton debated whether to tell the detective more or just knock him out but yet, if he was pursuing the buyer then he could find the man before any more damage could be done.
Deciding to risk it, Frank pulled down his coat sleeve revealing a silver plated holowatch.
Taking it off he handed it to the man who was confused as he looked it over, then as he finished Frank spoke, “I had an accident which led to me falling.”
The detective was perplexed when he heard these words, “Yes, I can tell. What does this have to do with-”
“The method I traveled with had an issue as I was checking a sales ledger and I fell from it. I won’t go further because it is difficult to explain.” Frank said.
The detective looked at his watch, “Theoretically, we have an hour. Due to the snow I suspect it’ll be an hour and a half.”
Frank laid back in his seat, he wondered how in hell he was going to explain this to the detective.
Then his mind wandered to Laura and her grandfather hoping they were fine, he had seen the craft recovering as he fell.
Inspirations are Friday the 13th the Series and the Metal Heroes Series from Japan.
Dimensional Knight Psychonizer
The Brass Vengeance
Alternate Dimension One
December 1882
The burlap bag was pulled off the man's head. His eyes took in the surroundings as they adjusted to the starkly lit room. He listened carefully and was surprised to hear the lapping of waves against wood. Then he felt the floor beneath him move side to side and he realized where he was - onboard a ship. Around him were nine men dressed in tuxedos, replete with opera masks . They stood around him in a circular pattern.
“Who are you?” he croaked out. The masked man closest to him stepped forward and spoke kindly.
“Well, well, well. Commodore Parker. I see you’ve accepted my invitation. Welcome to our humble vessel. I know it's no ocean liner but I feel it’s comfortable enough.”
Parker felt a surge of anger and shouted, "Let me go! Do you know who I am? I can destroy your careers!”
“You were a Captain thirty years ago?” The leader asked, ignoring the exclamation.
“Yes. Yes, I was.” A distant memory entered his mind and panic began to set in.
“Oh! I see a little recognition. Do you remember the night of June 2nd, 1852?”
Parker felt terror as he heard those words and as the men advanced, “It’s you. What will you do with me?” he croaked.
The masked man laughed and said "I assure you, none of us will harm you in any way." He took a large brass watch out of his breast pocket.
"Like it?" He asked Parker who was terrified as he looked around.
The watch clicked open unaided. Parker could not shake the feeling the watch was leering at him like a lion leers at a gazelle before it strikes.
Parker felt mesmerized as he looked at the watch. Warnings in his head told him to turn away but he couldn't.
The watch seemed to emanate power as all of its hands spun around. From the center of the mechanical timekeeper flew cold, wet spray causing the man to close his eyes.
A chorus of screams rang out from the watch along with the sounds of wood and metal being smashed.
The leader of the masked men roared, “Do you remember Parker? The ones who called for you all those years ago?”
Before Parker could do or say anything, strands made out of a strange white-ish, cord like material flew out of the watch and inserted themselves into his body.
The watch hands began to spin counter-clockwise and Parker screamed as pains wracked his frame.
The white cords began their work and sucked him into the works like a pump. After a few seconds passed, a reddish material was extracted from him causing the unfortunate man to scream aloud. Minutes passed and the reddish material turned to purple, then a dark blue, and finally black.
Despite Parker feeling like this process had taken an eternity, it only took a few moments and the results were remarkable.
What was once a 75 year old heavyset man had turned into a brittle, yellowed skeleton with loose hanging clothes draped over it.
As one of the men approached the skeleton, it collapsed under its own weight. The leader of the group motioned and said, “Clean that mess up.”
The eight men did so while the leader looked at the watch, on the inside of the cover was over two hundred markings of varying sizes.
As he watched, three markings vanished and the leader grinned. His efforts had been rewarded.
The watch glowed as its owner put it back into his pocket, the light turned from white to blue and then faded into darkness.
Prime Dimension
Date: 3,203 PD
Frank Hamilton, age twenty three, gripped his stomach and nearly keeled over. There was a bizarre feeling in his stomach. However it vanished as quickly as it had arrived and he got up feeling sore.
The lawyer looked up from the papers, “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.
The young man got up and waved, “I think I had something that disagreed with me. Just stomach issues.”
The lawyer looked skeptical but returned to reading the will of the late Benedict Cassius Hamilton, Frank Hamilton's father and possible originator of a well known curse that had affected him for the last seven years.
Despite the suddenness of the attack, Frank was pretty sure that it was just stomach pain.
“In the event of his disappearance, Benedict Cassius Hamilton has written that you will take over his antiques store, La Bonŝanca Trovo and all possessions related to it to use or dispose of as you see fit.”
The lawyer then handed him a tablet, “This is all the paperwork for the store. Now Mr. Hamilton, I am aware of your past with your father and can confirm that disposal of items is permitted legally and there’ll be no issues if you do so.”
Frank gave a slight smile, “Thank you, Mr. Dorschent. Let me sign.”
Dorschent nodded, “Esperanto please. I know you prefer Amérikaano but it is a galactic document and you of all people should know the preference there.”
Frank rolled his eyes, “I know, still at least this is painless. Now, can I offer you dinner? My treat. I know what Starliner food is like.”
The lawyer shook his head, “I must return to my office, Mr. Hamilton. Perhaps another day.”
Mr. Dorschent began to open the door when a woman yelled “Ouch!” as she crashed into it.
Frank looked up from the tablet and then smiled as he felt a very familiar mental presence emanating from beyond the door.
He walked to the door where the lawyer was helping a short woman in a white long sleeved button down covered by a sleeveless vest, a brown miniskirt, and brown riding boots.
She looked ready to give the unfortunate lawyer a mouthful.
Next to her was an older grey haired gentleman with a kindly face dressed in a white dress shirt, grey waistcoat, red bowtie, grey pants and brown shoes. All of which was in an old fashioned style who was also helping her up.
Frank ignored the two men and spoke to the woman, “For a telepath, you have a worrying habit of walking into doors. Perhaps you should focus on the sidewalk?”
Laura Waterton blinked and her building rage vanished. Frank felt her mind reach out and feel around his for a moment, her confusion turned to surprise.
He patted her face with a wide grin on his face, “Yeah, it’s me. Remember I’m your partner? Or is your memory failing you?”
The red haired woman frowned, “Why are you here? You told me you’d never come back to Nova Tero.”
The lawyer said “Mr. Hamilton has taken possession of Benedict Cassius Hamilton’s store after his sudden disappearance. The will states he had to be here physically to take possession.”
Laura turned in surprise to Frank as Mr. Dorschent slipped away from them.
Frank felt a little admiration at the man’s ability to vanish before she spoke. “Well,” she started, “this must be Christmas come early for you..”
Frank frowned and chose his words carefully. “If he didn’t vanish and I knew what happened, perhaps. However, his disappearance is worrying since it could mean some very unpleasant things.”
She nodded and didn’t press. Those “things” were well known to her.
Frank handed her a napkin to wipe off some dirt off her face. She smiled and was about to speak when the old gentleman interrupted, “So this is Franklin Hamilton? A pleasure.”
He extended his hand and Frank shook it, surprised at the strong grip of the older gentleman while Laura introduced him, “Frank, this is my grandfather, Perseus.”
Frank's eyes widened as he heard this, “So you’re her grandfather? Laura wasn’t kidding when she said you were a marvel.”
The old man raised an inquisitive eyebrow and Laura grew somewhat crimson, “In what ways did she say I was a marvel?” Perseus asked.
Frank replied, “You look like you should be considering retirement and instead you’re traveling and doing very active work. I hope I can do that when I reach your age.”
Perseus Hartford let out a chuckle, “Well, I should think there’s a possibility of that. However, I was blessed with extraordinary genetics and an active lifestyle that has allowed me to prosper at all stages of life. Please tell me about yourself.”
Frank began to think about what to say when a familiar pain began to materialize in his stomach.
Alternate Dimension One
December 1882
The leader looked at the man in front of him with a look of disdain on his face. Parker may have abandoned them to die but he wasn’t the one who put them in harm's way.
This thing in front of him was the one who ensured that those who died were even in the position of being in the water that dreadful night.
He motioned to a cohort behind the victim who took off the bag over his head.
Former Third Officer Lewis Vernon of the SS Zenith of Lane gasped as he looked around.
Unlike Parker, he had fallen on hard times due to the stigma of his actions. However Vernon had been found not guilty and that was all that mattered to him.
The leader said “Vernon, out of everyone in my crusade, your crime is the greatest.”
The man looked perplexed as he heard this, “What do you mean?”
“Remember the night of June 2nd, 1852? It was a dark, rainy but beautiful night.” The leader reminisced.
Vernon realized what was being referenced immediately and let out a despairing moan.
The leader cracked a smile as he heard this, “We got Parker last night. Now let us see if you are guilty or not.”
He pulled out his watch and opened it, Vernon looking confusedly as he peered inside.
The watch numbers had been replaced with doves and gavels, the leader clicked the top of the watch causing the hands to spin.
For a few moments, the watch hands just spun then stopped on gavels without warning.
Then the tendrils extended and began to insert themselves into the man, energies sucked from his body as he began to shrivel up. Fat and muscle were devoured giving the man a corpse-like appearance, the skin and eyes were consumed, and finally the network of nerves.
The tendrils then sucked the marrow out weakening the bones until they were incapable of supporting themselves and collapsed into dust.
Opening the watch, the leader smiled wolfishly as three more marks disappeared.
Prime Dimension
Date: 3,203 PD
Frank collapsed, in his ears a chorus of screams rang out, tearing metal and wood deafened him while he lost his vision as the inside of his head shook.
However, the true agony from the attack was in his body as it felt like every part of him was being ripped apart.
The agony lasted 20 seconds and ended just as suddenly. Frank breathed heavily on the ground, blind and deaf for a few seconds.
Slowly, both hearing and vision returned. He opened his eyes and found Laura and Perseus standing over him, looking concerned.
“Mr. Hamilton, are you alright?” Perseus asked. Frank nodded slowly, taking a few moments before grunting out “Barely.”
Laura helped him up and asked the inevitable question, “Was it your curse?”
Frank let out a wet cough and thought it over for a few moments, “I think so. Oh god, I haven’t had that type of pain in years.”
The old man looked over Hamilton questioningly, “What is this curse? What you had looked like a spasm of some kind. Where did those splinters and water come from?”
Frank felt his face over and discovered that it was all wet. His fingers had long splinters of wood in them.
He tasted the liquid and was surprised to taste salt water. “What in blazes?” Astonishment present in his voice, “Salt water?”
Laura looked confused before a memory came into her mind, “I remember meeting you before getting the enchantment,” She turned to Perseus who looked perplexed, “It’s more of a popular name for technology that can block the effects of demonic energies..” She turned back to Frank, “ strange stuff like that was noticed all over you every time this happened. Remember when we found that ancient Roman knife in your back?”
Frank grimaced, “I promise I’ve been keeping up making sure my enchantments.”
Perseus now had a serious face on, “Let me look you over.”
He took a strange tool out of his pocket and calibrated it. Turning to Frank he said, “Hold your breath Mr. Hamilton, there’ll be a momentary pain as I extract some blood.”
Frank blinked, “Come again?”
Perseus then stabbed the tool into Frank’s chest.
The young man blinked for a moment unsure of what to do until he felt a strange sensation of pleasure.
The first feeling was that of a massage, the second of cats fur being all over him and the third was cats and what he imagined crocodiles(?) to feel like massaging him which was weird but somehow relaxing.
The strange feeling ended as Perseus removed his tool.
Suddenly Frank felt the actual pain of the blood extraction as the sensation faded, his face turned white and he let out an exclamation of “Nierkdco!”.
“Don’t be a child.” Perseus chided before he looked at the results.
Laura patted him on the back, “It’ll be alright. Let me guess, cat fur?”
Frank replied, “Cat and crocodile skin massage. It was strangely pleasing.”
Laura stopped and looked at him, “What?”
Then Perseus gasped and Frank turned to the horrified old man who was looking him over.
“Do you have suspicions on who may have cursed you?” Perseus asked.
Frank thought for a moment and said “My father. We fought the night before I first started having these episodes. I had woken up to find him sticking something in me, it looked like a vial. Couldn’t prove it though.”
Laura looked at the tool and her eyes widened, “I can guess why. He was working with the demons.”
Frank's eyes widened. “You have proof?”
He rushed over and tried to make sense of the tool’s readings, only to be stopped by the realization that he couldn’t read the bizarre language on the display.
However, the mathematical symbol for the demon dimension was unmistakable. “That wretch, I knew something like that was going on,” he growled.
Laura looked at the readings again and then at the store. “It’s odd, I’ve never seen these readings before.”
Perseus looked down at the tool and then at her, “I have seen something like it, Mr. Hamilton. In essence, your father seemed to have received something from this demon realm. However, the origin of this beneficial energy stems from a different dimension while you receive the aftershocks that should also also be sent with them.”
Frank growled, “I can guess what he got out of it, immortality or something like it.”
Perseus frowned as he heard this, “Without seeing his body, I can only speculate. This demon seems to be quite a new hand at dimensional manipulation but it’s fiendishly clever.”
Laura sighed, “Frank? Do you mind if I look through the store with you?”
The young man nodded, “Of course Laura, I have to do inven-”
Then something clicked in his mind, he turned to Perseus and raised an eyebrow, “So, you’re an alien?”
The old man jumped in surprise and Laura realized what Frank had figured out, “I’m sorry, Frank for not telling you but-”
Frank waved her off, “I’m not angry, family is family and I’d do the same if my father hadn’t driven every relative off and poisoned any future attempts at reconciliation. However, I’m curious about you, sir. Laura has stood with me through perils and joys alike, you I wonder about.”
Perseus rose to his full 6’3, “Is that so? Why?”
“You stab me with what I assume is an unsterilized needle and basically tell me what I always wanted to hear.” Frank replied.
The old man blinked and was about to snap when Laura put her hand over his mouth, “Frank, we’ve known each other for how long?”
“Five years give or take a few months.” The young man replied.
“Let me assure you, demons haven’t managed to infiltrate his mind. This is just how he usually acts, believe me.” She rubbed her hand over her bottom as a long forgotten memory came up,
Frank felt the effects of the memory and winced, “Well, there’s only one way to know.” He said.
Frank took out a small pen and jabbed it into Perseus’ face, nothing happened.
“You’re demon free. If you had been infected, then your skin would have been burnt.” Frank explained.
Perseus raised an inquisitive eyebrow while Laura simply grinned, “You still carry that?” she asked.
Frank smiled at her, “It only takes me a millisecond to react to changes.”
Laura rolled her eyes, “Oh yes, I also imagine that this was in no way motivated by him jabbing you?”
The young man gave a mock expression of horror, “Perish the thought Laura! I am not that petty”, winking as he finished the statement.
Perseus frowned, “I see, I’m also certain that thing does not actually work.”
Laura looked at Frank's hand as he reached inside his coat, “You’re getting the hand aren’t you?”
Frank grinned and pulled a mottled disfigured hand from the inside of his jacket, the old man's face dropped as the younger man thrust the pen into it, immediately it began to spark and a strong ozone smell emanated from it, the pen was removed and the reaction stopped.
“Oh my!” Perseus exclaimed.
“Belief in certain objects mixed with the metal known as brass, both are acidic to demon and demon infested skin while the latter also keeps germs from being long term guests.” Laura explained to her grandfather.
The older man grimaced, “What an ingenious device. Probably expensive due to the nature of its materials and the number of humans.”
“There’s a reason brass isn’t used in civilian usage, along with copper.” Frank replied.
Perseus let out a soft chuckle and then turned to him, “Now, back to your curse. I have a theory on what has been going on. Let me ask about these demons, what are they?”
Frank turned to Laura, “Do you wish to explain?”
She shook her head, “I think you do it best.”
Frank smiled and turned to Perseus, “They came from a universe where the rules of reality were similar to ours once. The demons took over and somehow managed to change the rules of that universe by their very presence making it quantumly unstable. They seem to use emotion to empower them, especially what some call ‘negative’ emotions like anger, fear, sadness even though others feed on positives.”
Perseus shuddered, “Quantumly unstable aliens, the powers those things would have! No wonder you call them demons.”
Frank nodded, “We managed to drive them away from Earth a few hundred years ago and shut down the collider, despite that the planet is still unsafe to live on. That and the fact all the nuclear materials were detonated turning it to a literal hellzone.”
Laura then jumped in, “There’s even unsubstantiated tales of the ground acting like water, fire and blood tornadoes, and creatures made of electricity.”
“That’s all that happened?” Perseus asked.
Frank and Laura nodded, Perseus made some calculations, “It might be possible to recover the planet, in a few hundred millennia.”
Then as the two were absorbing that, Perseus announced. “Now for my plans. I’ll look around the store and his house. Well, if he has a house, in a few days. I need to collect my thoughts and some tools. Furthermore where would the blueprints for the store and home be?”
Frank replied, “He lived in an apartment above the store, city hall would be where you're looking for the blueprints. What are you going to do?”
However the older man had already departed, “Cor, he’s fast.” Frank said.
“You have no idea.” She replied.
“Given your discussion of dimensional stuff, I’m going to assume you're not from around here either?” Frank asked.
Laura nodded, “He and I hail from an advanced dimensional traveling society. Unlike the Hadron Collider experiments of this dimension which led to the demon infiltration, we managed to avoid those unwelcome guests and learn how to travel in dimensions, time and space. Although the second isn’t often used, turns out time has its own guardians there.”
She shuddered as she remembered her sole meeting with them.
Frank chuckled and said “Oh lovely. Well, I’m going to be doing inventory for now.”
Laura replied, “I think I’ll help, knowing my grandfather, when he returns he’ll be looking at the walls and doors and growling if it isn’t done.”
Frank grimaced, “Let’s go then.”
Laura smiled, “You seem to be taking this well.”
Frank replied, “Well, you’ve been a good partner. Where I would be without you is something I shudder to contemplate. If your grandfather played a role in that, then he’s good in my book.”
Laura smiled at the compliment.
The two entered the store and began to look through the inventory and pack it up while looking for anything that told of demonic dealings.
However, it seemed that Benedict Cassius Hamilton had lived by the age old motto, “You don’t defecate where you eat.”
The only thing off was three books next to the sales ledgers, which were normal looking and had no traces of demon energy.
The volumes though were written in strange languages neither could recognize and bizarre looking numerals made them unreadable.
For five and a half days, they continued searching and packing before Perseus returned with a briefcase, a tablet and a workman’s bag.
He looked around the inside as he entered, Frank and Laura looked up from their meal. Perseus grinned and said “Fantastic work you two, I am going to assume you’ve found nothing?”
“Just a couple of ledgers containing unknown languages and bizarre numbers.” Laura reported.
Frank then said “They’re probably forgotten languages of man the demons taught him. That would be a kicker wouldn’t it?”
Perseus harrumphed, “Good job, now I’ll be busy going around the store and apartment setting up these machines. Don’t ask what they do, until yesterday I had nothing like them.”
The two watched him go around the room setting up strange reddish brown rectangular devices.
Then he quickly went to the other rooms on the ground floor and set up similar devices and then ran up the stairs.
Frank blinked and looked at Laura, “He seems to be in a hurry.”
She chuckled at this, “Don’t worry, he’ll slow down in a few minutes. Do we have enough food for him?”
Frank nodded and a few minutes later the old man came down the stairs satisfied, “Good afternoon you two.” Perseus said to them.
They handed him a soup bowl and Perseus took it, after sipping the soup he said “Quite a pleasant week I admit. The records were quite descriptive of how he built the house. For instance did you know he applied for a basement but never purchased a thing for it?”
“I remember, I was still living here at the time. Heck, we built it together. That is peculiar though. I remember him going into the basement all the time after we built it.” Frank replied.
Perseus raised his eyebrow and asked, “Where was the entrance?”
Frank got up and said “Let me show you.” They walked up to the bedroom where the young man saw the familiar door, it was flush with the wall with its knob missing.
He fiddled with the door and was rewarded with a click. He opened it and grinned as he saw the winding staircase, turning Frank called, “Come on!”
Laura and Perseus looked at each other in surprise, “Frank? There’s only a wall.”
Laura replied. The young man looked inquisitively at them both and said “I just opened the door, come on down.”
The two looked at each other and followed him, they were surprised as they walked through the doorway and found themselves in the stairway.
They slowly followed him deeper into the stairwell.
A few minutes later they reached the bottom of the stairs which led to a very large room, in it was a strange set of objects that caused them to stop.
“How did they get there?” Frank and Laura exclaimed at once as they saw the treasure trove before them.
Alternate Dimension One
December 1882
The masked leader felt warm despite the chilly wind that went underneath his clothing. He moved his hand underneath his coat and grabbed the watch, once again he heard its song.
A small part of him tried to deny the song any entry to his heart but he rejected this effort, the desire for vengeance had long superseded everything else in his soul.
The schooner was very quiet as it made its way up the shore, it would take time but soon they would reach their next stop.
Then, the last of the guilty would pay the price to save three more onboard the ship. With that done, he could rest and end his days back under the guise of the lord.
The song entered his heart and he wondered if that was the best idea, the lord would probably not approve of his actions.
Plus, there were other criminals who needed to pay for their sins.
A wave came over the deck and soaked his skin.
His eyes closed as the events of June 2nd, 1852 flew into his mind.
The terror as the ships collided, the slanting deck knocking people off their feet, the cries of women and children as the water approached them, the struggle to reach anything that floated, the screams and then the silence.
He shook in anger as he remembered this, then he remembered being rescued and shook, what nonsense the crew offered him,
He would dispose of their leader properly, that wretch would pay.
Alternate Dimension One
December 1882
Frank and Laura walked into the room, priceless artifacts from all corners and eras of pre-demon Earth were littered around.
Perseus was equally as stunned, some of the items he saw included lost pieces of art, cultural artifacts, armors and literature including the Le Pigeon aux Petits Pois and the Cardenio.
He walked up to the latter and picked it up, a strange feeling of pleasure came into him as he opened the pages.
A suspicion came into his mind and he closed the book, then took out a small neural device, setting it to forget all he had read. He put it on his head, the device destroyed the memories and the feeling of unnatural pleasure vanished.
He looked longingly at the book, it was one of his favorite plays when he saw it on one of his travels and a written version had been impossible to find even for him.
Putting it down he turned to Laura and said “Cursed.”
Frank looked at some of the works sadly and said “I’m not surprised, the demons seized most of these works and probably gained the rest over the duration of their reign on Earth. We’ll have to dest-”
Laura noticed her grandfather's face and interrupted.
“Maybe we could try to transcribe the items. It won’t be original but their contents won’t be lost.”
The old man looked at her slightly relieved, “Thank you my dear, however it should be done cautiously. My mind has been trained for millennia to fight off mental temptations and I felt influenced! If these demons manage to have that much influence with a single item, I shudder to think what power a single demon has.”
Frank and Laura shuddered, they had fought demons for some time and knew precisely what they were capable of.
Then Frank saw something behind the piles of books, he walked around them and found a small desk and a register.
Suspiciously he opened the register, He started in surprise as the drawer opened, opened again in the middle and again and again until an extremely large table had opened up.
Inside each of the inserts was a different currency, the other two came up to him and looked at the currencies in the inserts.
A sight caught his eyes, a golden coin with a woman's head was glowing a dark red color, he slowly moved his hand towards it.
As his hand touched the coin, his vision was blinded by a flash of light. He was thrown back into a wall, as his mind darkened two words came into his mind.
Dame Lucia
A few minutes later he woke up to a strange and piercing scent. His eyes slowly cleared and he saw Perseus holding a strange bottle under his nose.
Laura looked relieved as she saw him awaken.
“Are you alright? Was it-?” He cut her off by groggily shaking his head and saying “I lost common sense and touched a glowing coin. Just a question, have either of our heard of Dame Lucia? Something called a steamship - some kind of water going vessel.”
Laura shook her head and said “No, you’re the old machine buff around here. When did that name come into your head?”
Frank unsteadily got up and walked to the register, the coin was still glowing its malevolent color, “I touched that coin and it sent me flying.”
“Oh my, Grandfather do you have a clue what that is and what these ashes are?” Laura asked.
The old man looked at it and said “I think this is what delivers the aftershocks. It’s been activated recently, however they all seemed to have been wrapped in something.”
Perseus put on a monocle and looked in at the currencies and frowned, “Mr. Hamilton, are there enchantments in this universe that could limit the power of a demonic object?”
“Yes. Laura knows a good chunk of them, I admit I focused more on demon destruction.” Frank replied.
Perseus turned to Laura who was stroking her chin, “Grandfather, I think I get what you’re suggesting. The ashes may be the remnants of enchantments placed over them, probably because of the noticeability of the early aftershocks.”
Frank grimaced, “Would destroying them work or would I make it worse?”
“Worse. The origin of the shocks would still exist and ramp up in whatever dimension they’re in. Plus, we couldn’t figure out the origin points. However I could nullify most of the effects, even more effectively than the enchantments you wore.” Laura replied.
Frank looked at the currencies distastefully, “Lovely, given the fact he has about one hundred or so different forms of payment and all of them have ashes around them, this can only mean that he’s been making this a regular business.”
“It is interesting, the man has only sold one hundred or so items. Yet, no ledger is here. Whatever his sins, he was quite tidy in his paperwork ” Perseus said as Laura handed him over the ledgers with the unknown characters, “Oh! That will do quite nicely.” He said as he opened the first one.
His face changed from eager to confusion as the strange letters and numbers in their odd orders greeted him. “I see secrecy was vital to him.” Perseus said as he poured over the pages with their strange characters and pictures of various items.
“Do you have any clue what they are?” Laura asked, “From what I see, it seems to be a fusion of various languages that are lost or forgotten on Earth.”
Perseus nodded and said “Indeed, I should be able to decipher the writings in a month or two but it’ll be trial and error filled until the computer picks up on how he writes.”
Frank laughed out loud as he heard this, the two looked at him as he recovered. “I apologize, my father’s always been a poor speaker of any language he came across. Writing is no different so I suspect half the errors you’ll encounter were by him trying to be clever.”
Perseus looked at the ledger with a hint of anger in his face, “He’s one of those people. Oh my, this is going to be a treat. Laura, could you hand me my work bag? Laura?”
The two men turned to see Laura looking at a small portion of the floor, they walked over to her and saw what interested the woman so much.
In a small pile on the floor in front of her was a bunch of ripped clothes, underneath them were two comically long shoes. Frank recognized them at once and said “He dealt with the devil.”
“And lost.” She added, “I think we won’t be seeing him again. Look at the glass next to it, I’d wager that was part of the device he used to communicate with the demons.”
Frank grimaced as he looked at the glass, “The fortune he must’ve spent on making glass like that! The way it shattered and the color makes me think of something like sapphire or ruby.”
Perseus picked up a piece and shook his head, “I’d say it was rubidium mixed with other metals in a way to make it transparent.”
“Rubidium?” Frank asked, “Yes, notice the softness of the metal and the device inside. It seems to be part of a hard light device.” Perseus explained.
They turned around and saw a control panel, “My god, he’s been busy.” Perseus exclaimed and then Laura realized something.
“The hard light must be used to make the structure that generates the portal!” She exclaimed.
The two men looked at each other in surprise before Perseus realized what she was saying, “Of course, hard light mechanisms have non-industrial uses here don’t they?”
Frank nodded, “I knew he used a set for birthdays and neighborhood events.”
Laura grimaced as she heard this, “It’s scary, he managed to repurpose a hard light to make a device to contact demons.”
Perseus nodded, “I imagine that in the years since you first met the demons, the security organizations of your world limit the sale of anything that could allow contact with the demon realm. Your father found a very interesting workaround I admit.”
Laura nodded, “One of our duties is to undergo plastic surgery and then go into any black markets looking for illicit sellers.”
Frank frowned, “I am curious as to where he got the power supplies. However, making the frame out of light is ironic.”
Perseus let out a grim chuckle, “I can only speculate but I think during his time as a merchant vessel parts trader he accumulated stock and marked several pieces as lost. I think if we look around, there’ll be 20 to 30 year old power generators about.”
Frank winced, “Headquarters isn’t going to like hearing that. Most people who try to deal with demons are too greedy and easy to spot. He is the type of ally that the demons most enjoy. When did he fall to them?”
A hint of sadness was in his voice as he said that, Laura wondered if pity was entering his mind.
Perseus sighed, “That will be for the authorities to figure out. Now, where do we go from here?”
Frank looked at the gold coin with interest, “I think we should find out what’s causing my recent pains and destroy it.”
Laura nodded as she heard Frank's statement, “No good can come from anything demonic.”
Perseus looked at the coin with interest, “How will you get there?”
Frank froze and thought for a moment, “Well, I could apply for a SPEARPOINT jump.”
Perseus raised an eyebrow, “SPEARPOINT?”
Laura answered, “Their interdimensional travel device, it's like firing a cannonball through dimensional barriers.”
Perseus gaped as he heard this, “How barbaric! I can’t allow that to be used. Come along with me.”
Frank was surprised as he heard this, turning to Laura, he saw she looked a bit relieved. As Perseus went up the stairs, Frank asked, “Was this your plan?”
She shrugged, “As much as I despise SPEARPOINT, this was not my plan. Grandfather was always willing to use more modern and safer methods of interdimensional travel..”
Frank grinned as an old memory came into his head, “Interesting. I'm sure this has nothing to do with the last SPEARPOINT jump which landed you up the Centaur Demon’s a-”
Laura put her hand over his mouth and growled, “Not a word Hamilton. You agreed to keep that secret. Any word gets out and I tell everyone about the witch transforming you int-”
Frank put his hand over her mouth quickly, “Point taken.”
The two headed up the stairs and as they reached the bedroom. Perseus looked at them distastefully, “What took you so long?”
“Don’t ask.” Frank replied. Perseus frowned and Laura raised her eyebrow after a moment, “Get your mind out of the gutter.” she snapped.
Perseus frowned, “What I just saw in your minds put it there. I wish it had been the gutter option.”
The two blushed and Frank shuddered a bit fearfully, “I didn’t even feel you.” Perseus replied “Dear boy, I did mention I had trained for millennia. I promise to not look inside too often, you are quite restrained in your thoughts though.”
Frank beamed as he heard this, “I won’t deny there’s some good from joining the Dimensional Knights.” Laura then spoke, “Before I figure out what you mean by that, let’s head downstairs.”
The three headed down the stairs and into the street, Frank looked around and said “So, let me ask. How do you travel?”
“Follow me.” The old man replied. The three walked down the street and into an old warehouse.
“Why are we here? This hasn’t really been used and people will get suspicious of three individuals going into here.” Frank said.
Perseus pointed at the middle of the warehouse proudly, “This my boy is what we’re going for.” Frank looked and saw a medium sized plane with two propeller engines.
“This, my boy is my dimensional travelling vessel.” Frank raised an eyebrow as Perseus finished and he replied, “It’s a plane, a turboprop airplane.”
“Yes, yes it is. A modified version of a favorite of mine. The Fokker Friendship.” The old man replied with a gleeful spark in his eye.
Frank looked at Laura who shrugged slightly embarrassed. The old man excitedly led them to the cockpit door and opened it.
Inside the cockpit was a futuristic interior. Contrary to Frank’s expectations, it was sized perfectly to the interior of the plane.
He whistled as he looked around, “What happens if someone you don’t want to see gets in?”
The old man smiled, closed the door, turned the key to the left, and opened it again. Inside was a perfectly normal cockpit of the 21st century.
“Ah. How does that occur?” Frank asked.
Laura replied, “Same way we transform. Just less messy.”
“Ah.” Frank replied and Perseus raised an eyebrow, “Transform?”
“Can’t kill demons permanently through conventional means, you need certain elements and weapon systems are needed. For them to have maximum effect, humanity created Dimensional Knights. We transform, well, exchange our bodies with metallic bodies which are stored in a different dimension when not in use.” Laura explained.
Perseus looked impressed and said “Oh my. That is impressive. How do you keep the mind connected to the body?”
“Krovært Tubes in the suits.” Frank explained, “They keep the connection going but are ungodly expensive.”
“They must be. Hopefully we shall not have to put them to the test.” Perseus replied as he turned the key, “Now come on in.”
They entered the Friendship and Perseus slowly began to start it up. Unlike a normal Friendship which was a turboprop plane, the version he had silently and pleasantly hummed into life as antigravity and dimensional generators started up.
The old man slowly moved the throttles forward causing the vessels engines to let out a muffled roar.
The vessel slowly lifted into the air and Perseus input some coordinates and speed, then pressed a button.
The vessel’s engines screamed into life and the ship soared out of the dimension and into the multiverse.
As the vessel surged forward, Perseus looked at the two younger people and said “I’ll be going into the cockpit, she has a bit of damage and I want to make sure the autopilot works.”
Frank raised an eyebrow, “Seems a bit dangerous. Is it safe?”
“Indeed, as long as I avoid any dimensional mines.” Perseus responded glaring at Frank.
Laura glared, “Don’t hold him accountable for that.” She turned to Frank, “We struck a mine, grandfather had to fix the ship for several years. Hence why I decided to join while he repaired the ship.”
Frank shuddered, “Ah, sorry about that. The navy is a bit, eager, to show off against the demons.”
Perseus gave a small smile, “Apology accepted, knowing most military types I suspect this is the best apology I can get. I’m almost tempted to see what these demons are like to understand why your race is so paranoid about them.”
Laura then turned to her uncle with a worried expression, “Avoid it at all costs. Oh! Did you remember-?” She made a book opening motion with her hands.
Perseus then felt the inside of his coat and exclaimed, “Almost forgot!”
He took out the three ledgers with the strange languages in it and brought them to a door in the back.
After a minute, he came back out, “I put them in a translator. Hopefully I should at least have a decent idea what’s in them.”
He then entered the cockpit, “We should be there in about 12 hours, so just rest and enjoy. Snacks are underneath the seats. Period appropriate dress is in the overhead rack.”
Then the door shut and Laura turned to Frank, “So, want to snoodle?”
The young man jumped and blushed, “What?”
“I finally got you to jump in surprise.” She grinned while Frank frowned, “That isn’t fair. It’s not every day I walk into something out of a 1950s sci-fi serial.”
She rolled her eyes at this, “Don’t let grandfather hear that, he’s quite certain the interior is up to date and not a throwback.” Frank nearly broke out into laughter as he heard that.
They talked some more before deciding to catch a nap, the two were heading into unknown territory and didn’t know what they would face or when a rest would be found. As they rested, the ship headed backwards in the time of Dimension Xv2I9IX-9Ru4 to the year 1882 in the state of New England.
Alternate Dimension One
December 8th, 1882
Onboard the train from Boston to Port Faerin, Pinkerton Detective Agency Employee Martin Feiner read his orders with interest.
Putting down the paper he laid back and thought over them as the locomotive charged onwards through the falling snow.
‘Going to watch over a disgraced captain to trap a gang of murderers that may or may not be there in the middle of winter.’ He thought, ‘One day I will gain seniority and be able to avoid these duties.’
A clap sounded above the train, Feiner looked around in surprise as he heard it. Then a man fell through the ceiling, the detective drew his pistol and undid the safety before approaching the sprawled out body.
He wondered if the man was dead before hearing the groan and seeing him move. The detective came closer and was confused as he saw the man's dress.
He had on a denim coat and pants that were too light for the weather outside, grey and black shoes of a strange make and made out of strange materials, his body spoke of many hours of labor or working out in the sun as an uneven tan was visible on his wrists, some scars were noticeable on his body but strangest of all was his hair.
It was a poofy hair style that he had seen in Barnums circus worn by Circassian beauties and some African American women.
As the man got up, the detective was confused as to what to do. He decided to talk to the man, “Hands up, turn around and sit down. We’re going to have a talk.”
The stranger who fell through the roof raised his hands up and turned around, then walking backwards, sat down.
The detective was surprised further as he saw the man was wearing a thin whitish grey shirt with no buttons under the open denim jacket.
For a moment he wondered if he was going mad, especially as no wounds were present on the arrivals body.
“Now then, what’s an underdressed fellow like yourself doing here?” Feiner asked.
The stranger spoke in a pained tone, “I wish I knew.”
He looked out the window and seemed dismayed, the detective felt perplexed as he wondered about how and why he was there.
“Now, what is your name?” The detective asked. “Frank Villard Hamilton, I’m heading to Port Faerin.”
The detective froze, his recent orders rang in his mind as the man he was going to protect was in Port Faerin.
“May I ask why?” Detective Feiner asked.
Frank opened one of his hands and seemed relieved as he saw a piece of paper in his hand, “I’m looking for the buyer of this watch. There was a problem with the purchase and heard he might be heading here.”
The detective looked at the illustration and was perplexed, it was an oval brass watch that looked like it had a painted pearl on its cover.
“Interesting.” The wording on the page was odd and seemed to be written by a madman with most words in English and the others in odd languages.
However a name caught his eye, he grabbed the paper and looked again.
Reverend William Jones Clement
He looked up and said “Is this accurate? Are you really looking for him?”
“Yes. Why?” Frank replied confused.
The detective was feeling excited, a real lead had literally just fallen out of the sky.
He didn’t like the man's odd dress and he was curious as to his origins but he felt like kissing him in joy.
He restrained himself, there was a risk of this Hamilton being a madman or anarchist or some other unpleasant fellow trying to interfere and asked, “Now, why are you here?”
Inside his head, Frank Hamilton debated whether to tell the detective more or just knock him out but yet, if he was pursuing the buyer then he could find the man before any more damage could be done.
Deciding to risk it, Frank pulled down his coat sleeve revealing a silver plated holowatch.
Taking it off he handed it to the man who was confused as he looked it over, then as he finished Frank spoke, “I had an accident which led to me falling.”
The detective was perplexed when he heard these words, “Yes, I can tell. What does this have to do with-”
“The method I traveled with had an issue as I was checking a sales ledger and I fell from it. I won’t go further because it is difficult to explain.” Frank said.
The detective looked at his watch, “Theoretically, we have an hour. Due to the snow I suspect it’ll be an hour and a half.”
Frank laid back in his seat, he wondered how in hell he was going to explain this to the detective.
Then his mind wandered to Laura and her grandfather hoping they were fine, he had seen the craft recovering as he fell.